The Clarion in Holland’s 1886 Directory

One of the advertisers in Holland’s Business Directory – and a major source of information about all the other advertisers – is the Naperville Clarion. While it is no longer in publication, the Clarion provided news to Naperville citizens for over 100 years. For many of those years, the Givler family served as publisher and editor.

A series of newspapers that were available to Naperville readers came and went until the 1860s. In the early days, folks read the Chicago Weekly Democrat and then the DuPage County Recorder. Other briefly published newspapers included the DuPage County Observer and the DuPage County Journal as well as the Naperville Newsletter and Naperville Sentinel.

During the Civil War, Robert Naper and Dr. Robert Potter founded the DuPage County Press, probably so locals could keep up with the national news. In 1867, after local boy David Givler had returned from the War and found his footing, he bought the Press and changed the name to the Naperville Clarion. Givler wore all the hats from reporter to editor to publisher and his motto for the paper was "Neutral in Nothing; Independent in Everything."

Givler was born in Ohio, but in the 1850s, his family relocated to the Copenhagen settlement which was around Route 59 and 83rd Street. He married Abbie Matter in 1864 while on leave from his war service and their early years were spent in Copenhagen while Givler taught school.

By 1867, they moved to Naperville and Givler became a pillar of the community. He was a well-respected speaker on history and current events and visited schools as well as clubs and organizations. He and Abbie raised three girls and three boys, with all of the boys serving at some point in the newspaper’s print shop.

Son Walter switched from printing to working for the First National Bank of Naperville. In his later years, he was instrumental in preserving early Naperville history, especially the Martin-Mitchell Mansion which had been given to the town by Caroline Martin Mitchell.

Son Oscar spent time in the print shop, too, as well as serving as town clerk, but he suffered from childhood with a “catarrhal affection” and underwent treatment at Edward Sanitorium. Unfortunately, he succumbed at age 47, leaving behind a wife and son.

David Givler published the Clarion until 1905 when he turned over the reins to his son, Rollo. David continued to write and speak during retirement, but he never rallied after his wife of 59 years passed away in the fall of 1922. He followed her on January 6, 1923.

Rollo ran operations at the Clarion and provided other printing services until 1951 when he sold everything to Mel Hodell and retired to California. The Clarion ceased to be published in the 1970s, but most issues are available for perusing through the Naperville Library’s website. They make for fascinating reading and with the search function, you can find great tidbits about Naperville families, businesses, and events.

Furniture Makers and Undertakers in Holland’s 1886 Directory

It was common for craftsmen who built furniture to also provide coffins and the Holland’s Directory listed two men in Naperville: Charles Babst and Frederick Long. 

The mass production of furniture was just beginning, so stores might offer both ready-made and hand-crafted items as well as furniture repair or other fine woodworking. Coffins were a natural offshoot of the woodworking business and providing funeral services was an added source of income. 

I’ve written about Frederick Long before, but here’s a review:    

Long started his career in cabinet-making in 1857. By 1861, he was operating his own workshop and had added undertaking by 1870. In 1861, he married Amelia Beidelman and they had one son, Charles, who only lived until the age of thirty and left no children from his brief marriage. 

Amelia’s nephew, Oliver Beidelman, worked for Uncle Fred and eventually acquired the business. He and his son, “Dutch” replaced the old frame building on the corner of Washington Street and Jackson Avenue with an impressively large brick building. Adjoining the building to the north was a space where funerals were held and you can still see the arched windows of the chapel on the second and third floors. 

The Beidelman’s Furniture business continues to be run by the family and still occupies the corner building. The funeral business is now helmed by a different branch of the family with two Beidelman-Kunsch locations in Naperville. 

Babst’s shop was on the corner of Main and Jackson, which is now the parking lot for Dean’s Clothing. Holland’s says that Babst has been in business “a long time” and has “a fine hearse,” but doesn’t detail when the business started. As Babst was a younger man than Long, no doubt he had less experience. The Babst family is buried in Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery and the Longs are buried in the Naperville Cemetery, so apparently Charles Babst specialized in Catholic funerals. 

Long seems to have been a savvy businessman. He formed a partnership with James Nichols and John Kraushar to launch the Naperville Lounge factory in 1893. They hired a young clerk named Peter Kroehler who eventually also became a partner and then the sole owner in 1916. The Kroehler Furniture Company was a major employer in Naperville for many years. Technically, that company closed in the 1980s, but the name continues to be used with other manufacturers.

Babst also married, to Catherine Bauer of Alsace, France. They had eight children together. Two little girls, Mary and Cecilia, died of scarlet fever in 1887. Edward was a victim of the Spanish Flu and died in 1918 at Great Lakes Naval Base where he was serving during World War I. 

Two other sons also served in that war, August and Julius, and both returned home. Julius was around forty when he went overseas and it was not the first war for him as an army chaplain. The Naperville Clarion published many articles celebrating Father Babst. 

A third son, George, was married to Mayme Kennedy in Los Angeles with his brother, the chaplain, officiating. Mayme died in her forties of a cerebral thrombosis and there is no evidence she and George had children. 

Daughters Rose and Anna remained in Naperville with their parents. They seem to have been musical. Anna taught piano and both were involved in theatrical productions in town. During that time, Rose advertised for a position as an “experienced children’s nurse” so they kept busy, but neither one ever married. 

Mother Catherine passed away in 1903 and soon after Charles sold his “3-story stone building.” An advertisement in an 1908 issue of The Clarion tells that Babst offered his funeral ““paraphernalia and good will for sale. A good opening for a Catholic.” 

Where the family went from there has been difficult to trace. Tidbits in the Clarion tell of travels to Kankakee, Springfield, Colorado, and other places so it seems they liked to travel. 

The 1910 census has father Charles living in Naperville with Rose, Anna, Edward, and August. In 1924, the Clarion says that Capt. Chaplain Bapst was visiting his father and family, so they must still be living in town, but the 1930 census records Charles, Rose, and Anna in New London, Connecticut. In the 1940 census, Julius is living at the Fort Lewis Military Reservation in Pierce, Washington, with father Charles, now 89 years old, and his sisters Rose and Anna, both in their fifties. 

Charles Bapst passed away in 1941 and his son Julius followed in 1943. George was already living in California and his sisters soon moved to California as well. George died in 1951, but the sisters continued to live in Santa Clara until the 1980s. Anna died in 1984 at the age of 94 while Rose lived to be 100, passing away in 1988. All of the family is buried in Naperville in Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery, save George’s wife. 

William and George Knoch in Holland’s 1886 Directory

William and George Knoch were a couple of young go-getters who ran a cigar factory and tobacco shop in town. The Holland’s editor praises William and George, saying “the business having been established three years ago by the former, and has grown to very respectable proportions.” Since William was born in 1864, that would make him barely nineteen in 1883, with George a couple of years older. 

The Knoch family were long-time Naperville residents. Father Christopher was born in Prussia and mother Josephine was born in France, but they were married in DuPage County in 1860. The birth of son George soon followed with five more siblings after him. 

Christopher was a tailor and had a shop on Water Street, now an extension of Chicago Avenue, which is still there today. The small, unassuming building has been empty, on-and-off, for a number of years. Most recently,  Dark Horse Pastries, Sugar Monkey Cupcakes, and Ehrina Yarn have been tenants.

Unfortunately, Christopher died in 1874, just 41 years old. Details on how Josephine supported her young family are difficult to discover, but according to the 1880 census, both George and William were already working. In fact, sixteen-year-old Willliam was a “segar maker.” I haven’t seen a direct confirmation yet, but it’s logical to assume William was working for Charles Schulz who had a long-standing cigar business that is also listed in Holland’s.

When the Holland’s Directory was published, the brothers had been in business three years already, operating out of a building on Water Street, which from the 1886 Sanborn Map looks to be where their father, Christopher, had his tailoring business. Also in 1886, the Naperville Light Guard, the original incarnation of our Municipal Band, had a group photo taken. You can see William in his band uniform with a tuba. His future brother-in-law, Theodore, is also in the photo with a drum and drumsticks. 

George married Gertrude Weismantel in 1890 and they had five children. He continued in the cigar business until after 1900, but by the 1910 census, George was working the Lounge Factory in town. 

William married his fellow bandmember’s sister, Adolphine Boecker, in 1893 and they had seven children together, two of which became nuns. Son Winfred Knoch worked for the family business as a cigar-roller to pay for his education at DePaul University in Chicago. After receiving his law degree, Win served in various county capacities and by 1930, was a judge. He and his wife, Irene, donated the land which became Knoch Knolls Park. 

William continued in the cigar business, although in 1901 he moved to Charles Schultz’s former tobacco store on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Main Street. That location is also still standing, currently housing Blue Mercury. Previous tenants include Starbucks and Naperville Liquors. 

When Naperville incorporated as a city in 1890, wards were established and William served as a alderman for the Third Ward from 1892 until 1896. He was also a supporter of Naperville’s 1917 Homecoming celebration and the Doughboy statue installation.  

The Jefferson Street location was more than just a tobacco shop. Cigars were rolled in the two-room factory in the back. In the front. men could buy a hand-rolled Havana cigar for a dollar and stay to enjoy it while playing cards with friends. The floor above held a meeting room were groups such as the Independent Order of Oddfellows and similar organizations could gather. 

William passed away in 1931 and Knoch’s Cigar Store and Factory passed with him. If you go to the Naper Settlement Museum, you can see the Punch statue that used to stand outside of his establishment during its heyday. 

Tom Ley in Holland’s 1886 Directory

One ad in Holland’s Business Directory promotes “Tom Ley’s Chinese Laundry” and it is the only one advertised, although it’s possible there were other laundries operating in Naperville. Ads were run in The Naperville Clarion in 1885 for a laundry business run by Charles Ong Lung.  

Chinese laundries were common in the 1800s because of a series of discriminatory practices. During the 1840s, many hopeful men came from China to make their fortunes during the Gold Rush. As the boom fizzled out, however, large numbers of unemployed men of all races were left competing for too-few jobs. Growing conflicts led to anti-Chinese policies, including an 1875 law that prevented Chinese women from entering the country. In 1902, all Chinese residents were required to be registered and carry photo IDs.

 

Excluded from property ownership and the most desirable jobs, some Chinese men found employment building the railroad while others started washing clothes and linen. Native American and Mexican women had previously provided laundry services to miners and others, but these early entrepreneurs started seriously competing. Washing was considered “woman’s work.” Few men were willing to do it and those that did were not seen as “threatening.” Chinese laundries thrived in the west and started to move across the country. 

 

Tom Ley has been difficult to trace, especially since it’s highly doubtful that his name was really Tom. No people recorded in the 1880 census are listed as “Chinese” and a fire destroyed most of the 1890 census. A quick perusal of the cemeteries in the area didn’t turn up any Leys either. 

 

Ley’s “first-class laundry” seems to have operated for decades on Water Street before moving to Jefferson Avenue in 1907. Since the first location was down the street from the Pre-Emption House, those are probably glimpses of the shop in old photos. In 1916, the property under the laundry and a neighboring cobbler’s shop was purchased by the Naperville Masonic Temple Association. The temple building erected there is still in use today and houses the Naperville Running Company on the first floor. 

 

The Chinese laundry seems to have moved to 47 Jefferson Avenue, which is how it is recorded in the 1923 telephone directory. Tom Ley, however, is no longer listed as the proprietor. Instead, Sam Lung is the name printed. Or possibly Ley was no longer in business and this was a second laundry, the one mentioned in the 1885 Clarion ad promoting Charles Ong Lung, who may be a relation. Sam Lung is also mentioned in the 1917 Souvenir of Naperville Homecoming book which lists all of the local businesses that supported the Homecoming event. 

Other than these few references, history about these men has been hard to find. An article in a 1913 issue of The Naperville Clarion thanks “the Chinaman on Jefferson Avenue for his grand display of fireworks which is so freely given every year,” which probably refers to Charles Ong Lung or maybe Sam Lung, judging by the date. Sam Lung is also listed in the 1910 census. 

 

While there may not be records enough to trace, it’s important to do whatever is possible for a more complete understanding of our community’s past, however hard to face. Our history may not be particularly pretty at times, but you know what they say about being doomed to ugly repetition if we don’t learn the first time. 

Willard Scott in Holland’s 1886 Directory

Naperville had two bankers listed in Holland’s 1886 Directory, both of which were also merchant tailors first. Last time, we looked at George Reuss. Across the street from Reuss’s shop was that of Willard Scott who had been around even longer. 

In the early 1800s, Stephen Scott decided to move his family from Maryland to stake out a claim in Illinois. He sailed through the Great Lakes, much like Joseph Naper would a few years later. Rather than in the fledgling settlement near Fort Dearborn, Stephen chose land near Grosse Point, now part of Evanston. 

A few years after settling there, Stephen learned that their homestead had been awarded to the family of Antoine Ouilmette following the Prairie du Chien treaty. During hunting trips, the Scotts had explored land around the DuPage River and decided to relocate there, a few miles out from the Naper Settlement area. This was in 1830, the summer before Joseph Naper arrived with his community. 

Stephen’s son, Willard, was already a young man when the family moved to Illinois. During a journey to Peoria, he stopped at the Hawley homestead. Smitten by the daughter of the house, he asked her to marry him. Caroline refused the one-day’s courtship proposal and he continued his journey. On the way back home, Willard stopped again at the Hawley’s and repeated his proposal. This time, Caroline said “yes” and they were married July 22, 1829.

After a time, the Scott family, including both Caroline and Willard’s parents, moved from their farms and into the Naperville town proper. Willard and Caroline started a family and had three sons who grew into adulthood. 

One of Willard’s early businesses was the Naperville Hotel, which he ran for a number of years. By the 1840s, Willard and his oldest son, Thaddeus, were operating a general store on Washington Street. The business thrived and as Willard’s good reputation grew, farmers who traveled into town for supplies started asking him to hold their money. Officially, Willard started his private bank in 1854, the same year George Reuss was immigrating from Bavaria to New York. 

The bank survived the Civil War, as did the Scott sons, and the merchant business grew, but within just a few years, Thaddeus died at a New York restaurant after choking on his food. Willard, Jr. then stepped into the store partnership and in the late 1860s, bought out the business from his father, leaving Willard, Sr. to focus on the bank. 

The store, which was about where Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea is today, was enlarged and remodeled in the 1870s. A separate building was attached to one side for the bank and a spacious second floor ball room was added. For many years, Scott’s Hall was the largest space available and it used for community meetings, celebrations, graduations, and similar gatherings. 

Around the same time, Willard Sr. was building his grand Italianate mansion on the corner of Washington Street and Franklin Avenue. It still exists today as the River Valley Law Firm and there are several interesting stories about it. Strangely, a photo in the Naperville Centennial book is labeled “Home of Willard Scott I, Corner of Washington Street and Franklin Avenue,” but that’s not the Italianate mansion in the picture. Perhaps the frame building in the photo was Willard, Jr.’s house on Jefferson? 

Another oddity is the front-page ad that ran for several weeks in The Naperville Clarion saying that Willard Scott & Co. was going out of business. These ads were published in January of 1886, the same year as the Holland’s Business Directory. Willard, Jr. seems to have sold the store in 1905, so it’s puzzling as to what the Clarion ads mean. 

Willard and Caroline lived good, long lives and their sons and daughters-in-law were quite active in town. Both Alvin and Willard, Jr. served as trustees in the village government for many terms and later, Alvin became treasurer and Willard, Jr. became mayor. Willard, Jr. was also the first fire marshall and his wife, Etta, was instrumental in launching the Naperville Women’s Club and they are all buried in the Naperville Cemetery except for patriarch Stephen Scott, the first to settle. Stephen’s burial place is unknown, however. Adventurous even into his seventies, Stephen started for California to pursue gold-mining and was not heard from again.

George Reuss in Holland’s Directory

While progress has replaced many of Naperville’s earliest structures, not only does George Reuss’s business building still stand but so does his home. And both are fine monuments to his maxim that "industry and economy lead to wealth." 

Trained as a tailor, Reuss left Bavaria in 1854, remaining for a time in New York until moving west to St. Charles, Illinois. Mathias and Gertrude Krapf, a family he knew from back home, also settled in St. Charles, bringing with them their daughter who was an old school friend of George’s. In 1856, Reuss married Anna Maria Krapf, moved to Naperville, and started a store with “a Mr. Dollinger.” This is possibly Franz “Frank” Dollinger as he also lived in St. Charles for a time and was a member of Euclid Lodge, the Masonic organization in Naperville. The partnership didn’t last long, however, and they split up the stock to go their separate ways. 

Now in his twenties, Reuss operated a clothier’s shop which sold men’s furnishings and utilized his tailor training. His obituary states that while Reuss was “a stern man, he was eminently just and demanded much more of himself than he did of anyone else” and his business seems to have flourished. In the 1860s, Reuss hired local contractor, Levi Shafer, to erect a fine clothing shop on the corner of Washington and Jefferson. In addition to being a successful builder, Shafer is known for loaning his gun to Marcellus Jones who is said to have fired the first shot of the Battle of Gettysburg with it.  

Reuss’s good reputation and sturdy building impressed the farmers and townsfolk who were his customers and they started asking him to hold their money. So the clothier became a banker, launching the Bank of Naperville in 1886. Isaac Murray, brother to the Ruth that I wrote about in my first book, was vice president of the bank. 

George installed a vault and added another room and rebuilt the entrance with elegant red granite to better reflect the change from tailor to bank. These additions cost him $13,000, equivalent to $397,117 in today’s dollars, and the fancy entrance now opens into Zazú Salon.

Over the years, Reuss also served a few terms as town trustee and in 1880, he was president. But there were difficult times for the Reuss family as well. Of the nine children born to Anna Marie, five died in infancy and one before her fifth birthday. The three remaining children prospered, however, providing thirteen grandchildren between them. As an adult, son Joseph joined George in the banking business, as did son-in-law, Valentine Dieter. 

The younger men’s responsibilities, naturally, increased over time, particularly when George was felled by a series of strokes. After two years of being home-bound, George passed away in 1901.  His wife continued to live in Naperville until her death in 1907 and both are buried in Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery. 

During the late 1870s, George and Anna Marie had a beautiful home built in Naperville for their family to enjoy. It was designed to resemble the villas found in northern Italy, which was a popular trend during that era. The home of Willard Scott, who also ran a store and bank on Washington Street, is another fine example of Italianate architecture. 

The grand house was eventually split up into a six-flat, but it received a big make-over in the 1990s, returning it to its former glory as a single-family home. In 2013, North Central College purchased the beautiful building to house then-incoming President Troy Hammond and it remains the college president's home today. 

“Sample Rooms” in Holland’s Directory

Naperville today has an abundance of drinking establishments and it was much the same in 1886. In fact, there were six saloons in the downtown area and one out by the train depot for a population of just over 2,000. 

These drinking establishments called themselves “sample rooms” which was a name leftover from when distributors let commercial customers sample stock before purchasing. The sample rooms in Naperville actually catered to folks who wanted to relax with a beer, a cigar, and a game of billiards, both locals and travelers. The Pre-Emption House was listed under “Hotels” and not “Sample Rooms,” but probably travelers could also buy food and drink there, as they had for since its inception.

Adam Conrad ran the sample room south of the railway station. Not a lot has been found about him other than the fact that he married Josephine Adams and they are both buried in Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery. One supposes that he particularly catered to folks waiting for a train and perhaps railroad employees. 

The in-town sample rooms were run by some more familiar Naperville names. We talked last time about Jacob Keller, who, yes, is related to Ron Keller of the Municipal Band. He started with a sample room, expanded his business with a hotel on Washington Street, and then returned to his original location with a scaled-down hotel and sample room establishment.  

Mrs. Caroline Fuchs is the only woman who has a sample room listed. She was featured in March for Woman’s History Month. Originally, Caroline’s husband, Fred, ran the saloon, but he died in 1886, apparently just before Holland’s Business Directory was published. 

Egermann is a well-known Naperville name. Xavier Egermann immigrated from Germany in 1846 and both he and his son Joseph had their hands in several businesses, including the Naperville Butter and Cheese Factory. Xavier purchased a brewery from Jacob Engelfreidt, which was probably the first in town, and also ran a sample room. The Egermann family sold their brewery in 1872 but continued operating a sample room, located where Naper Nuts and Sweets is today. 

The Engelfreidts had built a bigger operation, but they sold that one also – to the Stenger family. Barbara Stenger married Joseph Egermann, so it’s hardly surprising that in Holland’s advertisement they feature “Stenger’s Lager Beer.” Barbara and Joseph were the parents of Mary Barbara “Matie” Egermann who was the long-time librarian at Nichols Library. It is Matie’s library that is depicted in the diorama kids love to look at in the lobby. 

August Clementz, Thomas Costello, Xavier Schwein, and Otto Sieber may be less familiar names today, but they all were long-time Naperville residents back in 1886 when they were proprietors of sample rooms with billiard tables. Schwein’s history is the most elusive and all that could be discovered is that he immigrated from France, was married to Antoinett, and was the father of five children.

Clementz and Sieber became sample room proprietors after retiring from other professions. Clementz was a tinsmith and worked in the hardware business, mainly in Naperville, but also for a brief period in Prophetstown. Sieber was a stonemason. After training his sons Hultrich and Henry in the trade, he let them continue that business while he retired to be a saloon host.   

Beyond being buried in Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery, little could be found about Thomas Costello. He must have been quite the upstanding citizen, however, as Holland’s Directory made a big deal out of the fact that his “business place is a model of its kind, wherein, we are well advised may be found at all (legal) times the best beverages in the market, while order and system are very pronounced.”

John Ruchty seems to have spent less time in Naperville, although at one time he also ran the Pre-Emption House, according to The Du Page County Guide. He was also a Frink and Walker stage driver in his early career after immigrating from Switzerland. In mid-life, he married Margaret, a widow with ten children, and they moved to Fullersburg to run a tavern there.

Improved bottling and distributing techniques meant that saloons could offer more than just beer that was brewed locally. The late 1880s was a boom time for breweries and competition started heating up which prompted exclusive brewery partnerships. As you can see from the ads, Costello advertises Schlitz, Sieber sells Brand’s, and Fuchs features Blatz. Egermann proudly serves the local brew, Stenger’s, because of his family connections. 

In bigger cities, breweries purchased buildings, decorated and outfitted them, and installed managers that sold their products exclusively. Even with this emphasis on specialty beer, this doesn’t seem to be the case in Naperville and the sample rooms appear to be owner-operated. The Encyclopedia of Chicago has a great essay on city saloons. 

Unfortunately, none of the featured beers are being made today. Stenger stopped brewing in 1893 and Blatz in 1959. Schlitz didn’t quite make the new millennium, ceasing operations in 1999. Brand’s Beer survived Prohibition but shut down by 1935. Brand’s might be a less familiar name, but their brewery building was still visible on Elston Avenue in Chicago, at least until recently. It’s awful hard to tell from Google Maps. 

Although Caroline Fuchs ran her own establishment and one surmises that wives may have assisted the other owners, it’s hard to tell if women frequented these sample rooms. That research will have to wait for another day!

Hotels in Holland’s Directory

The 1886 Holland’s Directory lists three hotels in Naperville: American House, Pre-Emption House, and Washington House. All of them were on Main Street, just a stone’s throw from each other. 

Jacob Keller emigrated from Germany to Naperville in 1851 and, at first, worked for Stenger Brewery. He eventually became a saloonkeeper on Main Street around 1867, but he had grander plans.  In 1872, he built a hotel on the northeast corner of Washington Street and Jefferson Avenue which he called, naturally, Washington House. According to Holland’s, it was a “fine brick building,” but “this, not being to his mind, he sold, at a great sacrifice, in 1872." Keller moved his business back to the Main Street location in 1879, keeping the name, Washington House. The hotel was also designated as the township polling place.

American House was started by B. F. Russell in 1875 as an addition to the livery business he had been running since 1869. Russell’s livery offered ten horses and twelve different kinds of wagons for customers to rent and provided his hotel with a particular advantage in transportation. As a bonus for American House guests, Russell ferried travelers to and from the train station for free. He also ran a taxi-type service to “carry citizens to any part of the village for ten cents.”

The Pre-Emption House had the oldest history. It was originally built in 1834 by George Laird and had a series of managers. Henry Ulrich was the proprietor in 1886, sometime after his service in the Civil War. While the name Urich continues to appear in Naperville history, any relationship to Henry is unclear and Henry himself seems to be gone from town. He and his wife, Sarah, are buried in Indiana and a son, Dr. Everett Ulrich, listed Indiana as his residence when he married in 1915.

Interestingly, there are also a number of advertisements for hotels in Aurora, Nebraska, and even as far away as London! Apparently, folks did a good bit of travel in the 1880s and this was their version of hotels.com for planning purposes.

Even though the American House and Washington House hotels seem to have paid to advertise in the Directory, according to Holland’s write-up, there was “no hotel in Naperville, whose exterior appearance, might be called, in a modern sense, first-class.” Well, that seems a little rude, don’t you think?

Ernest Von Oven in Holland’s Directory

The 1886 Holland’s Directory features three full-page ads promoting Ernest Von Oven’s various businesses. All have the same office “at the forks of Aurora and Oswego roads,” where St. John’s Episcopal Church currently sits. In fact, the rectory behind the church was once the Von Oven home. 

Von Oven arrived in 1855, and by 1866, he had established himself as a businessman in town and married Emma Reifnerath, with whom he raised a family of five children: Helene, Johanna, Hedwig, Frederick, and Emma. 

Von Oven also started the Naperville Nursery with his brother, Adelbert, the favorite of all his operations, which ran until the mid-1900s, long past Ernest’s own passing in 1906. It was one of several nurseries in the area and was well-known for fruit trees in particular. Emma and her children carried on the business for a number of years. This 1926 ad from the American Institute of Park Executives shows the only son, Fred, as the president and “H. Von Oven” as the secretary. As Hedwig, unfortunately, died while still a toddler, this no doubt refers to Helene. 

Von Oven’s other operations included a tile- and brickworks with George Martin, the builder of the mansion now featured at Naper Settlement. Martin had started the brickworks in the mid-1850s, but it really took off following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 when the city was desperate to rebuild. One of Martin’s former associates was Martin King and Von Oven became a partner in 1878. In addition to bricks, the company also produced tile, which was becoming more and more necessary for draining agricultural fields.

Yet a third business Von Oven was involved in was a quarry and stone operation with Bernard B. Boecker, starting in 1884. Boecker survived the infamous Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago in 1903 but tragically lost his son to a wagon accident in one of the quarries. Naperville had several quarries along the DuPage River that eventually were abandoned, including the Von Oven and Boecker property. 

In 1831, a group of citizens purchased that land from the Von Oven heirs with the idea of getting the city to take it on as 100th anniversary Permanent Memorial and turn it into a park and swimming hole. Centennial Beach was dedicated in June, technically some months before it actually became property of the city. Bernard’s son, Theodore, was one of the members of the Permanent Memorial Committee. 

It's interesting to look at the old Sanborn Maps of Naperville and see the industrial rail spur running down Jackson and up Ewing to join the main line going to Chicago. In addition to the stone and brick businesses, this spur was probably also used by John Suess’s church furniture shop and maybe the German cheese factory. The Stenger Brewery doesn’t seem to be along the rail route, but Stenger did store beer close to the DuPage River, so perhaps they used wagons for transportation to storage and later used the spur to connect with the main line?

Ernest and Emma’s children seem to have been smart and talented. In addition to helping with the family’s businesses, Fred was a trained engineer and also instrumental in developing Illinois state parks. He worked with Jens Jensen on a pamphlet called “A Park and Forest Policy for Illinois.” 

Before Johanna died suddenly in 1909, she was an accomplished artist and teacher of art, training and working at the Chicago Art Institute and Chicago University. Helene and Emma, named for her mother, both continued in the nursery business. None of the Von Oven children had children of their own and Emma was the last of the line. She presented a portion of her land to the city for the Von Oven Scout Reservation before her death in 1960.

In addition to the Scout Reservation and the St. John’s rectory, the Von Ovens also left behind a stately monument in the Naperville Cemetery where all of the family is buried.